Tire Test - Continental Race King Performance

Test Summary

Compare up to 3 tires

The Continental Race King Performance Folding 29 x 2.2 mountain bike tire is one of the four available versions of the Race King. I will review all four Race Kings to make it possible to compare apples to apples. Price wise, the Conti Performance line tires fall in between the cheap wire bead Sport version and the more expensive RaceSport and Protection versions. This Race King has an 180 TPI folding casing and the Pure Grip compound, which is slightly less advanced than the BlackChili compound.

The Performance line Race King feels much sturdier built than the RaceSport version, which is a very thin and light tire. When examining the tire, the tread is quite stiff and the sidewalls also seem to have some protection against cuts. I'm really looking forward to comparing this tire against the more expensive Protection version. I think it's much closer to that tire than the very fast RaceSport version.

Unlike the Protection and RaceSport versions, the Continental Performance line tires use a less advanced Pure Grip compound instead of the well known BlackChili compound.
Continental says this compound provides great grip, is long lasting and highly durable. Another difference is that the Sport and Performance line tires are manufactured in China, unlike the RaceSport and Protection tires which are handmade in Germany.

The measured weight comes in at 669 grams which is very close to the specified weight of 660 grams. Just like the other Race Kings I've had the opportunity to test, this tire also has a very large volume with a casing width and height of 54 mm. Knob height at the edge of the tire is only 2.5 mm. Most other XC style tires have bigger side knobs.

Use the formula: RR (watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load

The Race King Performance has a surprisingly flat rolling resistance curve, there is only a 4 watts difference between a low pressure of 25 psi and a high pressure of 55 psi. Rolling resistance at 25 psi is 3.9 watts higher than the more expensive and lighter Race King RaceSport. At 55 psi, this gap widens to 4.3 watts. Surprisingly, the "Performance" version of the Race King is able to outperform other manufacturers high-end tires.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Puncture Resistance Test Result (higher is better)

Puncture Resistance Tread

11

Puncture Resistance Sidewall

3

* Sidewall puncture resistance is new data that has been added after writing this review.

Puncture Resistance is very good with a score of 11 which is much higher than the score of 7 for the RaceSport. Puncture resistance even gets close to the 12 points the tough Race King Protection scored in our test.

Conclusion

I think the Performance line Race King performs very well. If you take into account the high puncture resistance score of 11 and its medium price, rolling resistance is decent. This isn't a true racing tire like the Race King RaceSport which is a tire with a much thinner casing and lower rolling resistance. I think it's most comparable to the Race King Protection except with a higher rolling resistance and a lower price.

This is a good mountain bike tire. For a little less money than a Race King RaceSport, you get a stronger tire with better puncture protection and a rolling resistance that is a little higher, but still lower than more expensive tires from other brands.